Gundam Build Fighters Try

Episode 16

What an episode of Gundam Build Fighters Try! It's as if somebody listened to my pleas last week and made an episode that was all about the awesome robot battles. This week was fun enough standalone, but became downright genius when you consider the way it hearkens back to the age-old debate of which direction the Gundam franchise should follow.

The Gundam franchise is known for creating what's known as the “real robot genre.” In the '70s, while other shows were depicting outrageous “super robots” that did martial arts and announced their special moves like super sentai characters, Gundam imagined what mecha would look like if utilized for militaristic might. Gundam's lingering question: “What if giant robots were a tool of war?” made it attractive to adults along with the more familiar child audience for robot shows.

In the 30-odd years since, Gundam has wavered back and forth between the science fiction realism that first made it a classic, and more popular outrageous robot designs as shown in Gaogaigar, Mazinger Z, and Voltron. More than any other, G-Gundam strays from the typical Gundam military realism formula. Gundam Build Fighters and Gundam Build Fighters Try have toed the line by using Gunpla from all eras of the franchise, but haven't really addressed the diverging schools of Gundam realism and fantasy until now.

You can tell plenty of the budget went into animating Gundam Tryon 3. The bird, manta-ray, and liger (bred for their magical powers, obviously) are independent mechas that merge together into a vividly colored and flamboyantly decorated super robot. It's telling that the audience didn't know how to react to such a fantastically unrealistic robot. Tryon is a breed apart from the “real robot” norm. It looks more like Gaogaigar, which also has a lion torso, than a Gundam.

Yuuma reacts with confusion. “Why the complex transformation? It must be bad for structural strength.” Our glasses character simply can't figure out a logical reason why Minato Sakai would have built his Gunpla this way. After all, Yuuma's Gunpla is based off of Zeta, one of the early models of the “real robot genre.” (Correction: it's a little more complicated. It's based off the RGZ-91 Re-GZ AKA Refined Gundam Zeta.) Every part is there for a reason. Of course, Minato shoots back that Yuuma doesn't “understand originality.” Minato's Shingyo School of Gunpla building puts creativity first. “Gunpla is freedom!” as Meijin Kawaguchi says. By pitting Minato and Yuuma against one another, the series contrasts the two major schools of giant robot design. It's a brilliant and exciting way to review the pros and cons of each type.

The Gundam franchise has so many mecha to choose from that one of my favorites, Gundam Spiegel, was used as cannon fodder. I can't believe they built a team of ninja Gunpla and didn't make its fighters main contenders in the tournament. There was an embarrassment of riches in this episode's Gunpla bloodbath. I'd be remiss not to mention Shia, who is up to the challenge of taking on an entire team by herself. Shia's ethereal Gunpla is inspired by the Gundam 00 models used by Celestial Being. Lady Kawaguchi calls Shia a “prima,” which might mean “prima donna,” given Shia's light step and graceful battling style. She is in the habit of wearing theatrical black gloves and taking a bow, with the air of a real performer. I suspect there's a lot we still don't know about Shia, with her mysterious elfin grins and sly confidence.

One more crazy theory: what if Sei and China are in space right now? It is the future after all, as evinced by Yuuma's crazy cell phone display (and the whole battling future-tech plastic robots thing). China says she's cheering her little brother on from far away, and at that moment, Yuuma looks up to the stars. Could it be? Gundam Build Fighters brought up the idea of a magical space kingdom where Plavsky Particles come from and that has to come back soon, right? Fantasy robot shows, indeed.

Rating: A+

Gundam Build Fighters Try is currently streaming on Gundam.info.

Lauren writes about anime and journalism at Otaku Journalist.